Senate extends Secure Schools act for one year

Flathead County could see more than $1 million for roads and schools if the House passes a bill the Senate approved on Sept. 19 that extends the 2000 Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act for another year.

The act has a decades-long history and is intended to provide money to rural counties in the U.S. where much of the land is taken up by national forest lands.

Funding for rural schools and road projects came from timber sales receipts, but as  the rural counties grew in past decades, the volume of harvested timber shrank.

Flathead County’s share of the money provided to 729 rural counties across the U.S. has averaged about $1.1 million per year over the past five years.

Flathead County received $1.59 million in the last fiscal year, of which a little more than $1 million went to roads and $430,201 went to schools.

The Senate-passed extension came as an amendment to S. 783, the Helium Stewardship Act, which the House passed with different language back in April. The amended bill must go back to the House and be acted on by Oct. 1 to avoid the shutdown of a helium reserve in Texas.

The Senate’s bill was sponsored by Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, and has 15 co-sponsors, including Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana. The bill passed by a 97-2 vote.

Meanwhile the very next day, Sept. 20, the House passed H.R. 1526, the Restoring Healthy Forests for Healthy Communities Act, which also provides a short-term extension to funding under the Secure Schools act (see separate story).

The two chambers may come to different conclusions on how to continue future payments to rural counties from national forest land timber sales.